formative assessment rti - campbell county schools...`formative assessments tell you where a child...

Exploring Formative Assessment –Assessment for Learning

FWPS-Teaching for Learning RTI Jan 2008

TeachersAdministrators

Para educators

Who will find this workshop useful?

What we will do during this presentation:• We are going have a discussion about: Formative/Summative

assessment defined, reviewed, compared, and modelled.

• Purpose/Goal: Purposefully apply Formative Assessment Instruction Strategies to every lesson, with every student, every day, at ALL 3 Tiers of RTI


Comes from the Latin verb ‘assidere’ meaning ‘to sit with’. In assessment one is supposed to sit with the learner. This implies it is something

we do with and for students and not tostudents (Green, 1998)


If we think of our children as plants …

Summative assessment of the plants is the process of simply measuring them. It might be interesting to compare and analyze measurements but, in themselves, these do not affect the growth of the plants.

Formative assessment, on the other hand, is the equivalent of feeding and watering the plants appropriate to their needs - directly affecting their growth.

The garden analogy


Using some scratch paper quickly define and/or provide specific examples of:

Formative Assessment(s)Summative Assessment(s)

You have 2 minutes- Ready set go………………

Now share with your neighbor, minimal discussion, just share your answer. If you don’t have one or don’t know or aren’t sure, that is ok.

You have 2 minutes- Ready set go……………….


Summative Assessments;◦ Given periodically to

determine at a particular point in time what students know and do not know.

Examples- State assessment, District benchmark assessments, End-of-unit/chapter tests, End-of-term/semester tests.

Formative Assessment;◦ Part of the instruction

process. Informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made

Examples- Criteria and goal setting, Observations, Questioning Strategies, Self and peer assessment, Student record keeping. More to Come

Formative Assessments◦ Tell you where a child can benefit from changes

in instruction or how they benefited from changes while the instruction is ongoing.

Summative Assessments◦ Tell you how much a child has learned as a result of

previous instruction.


Formative and summative assessment are interconnected. They seldom stand alone in construction or effect.

The vast majority of genuine formative assessment is informal, with interactive and timely feedback and response.

It is widely and empirically argued that formative assessment has the greatest impact on learning and achievement.


Formative assessment“… often means no more than that the assessment is carried out

frequently and is planned at the same time as teaching.” (Black and Wiliam, 1999)

“… provides feedback which leads to students recognizing the (learning) gap and closing it … it is forward looking …” (Harlen, 1998)

“ … includes both feedback and self-monitoring.” (Sadler, 1989)

“… is used essentially to circle back into the teaching and learning process.” (Tunstall and Gipps, 1996)


Summative assessment“… assessment (that) has increasingly been used to sum up learning”

(Black and Wiliam,1999)

“… looks at past achievements

“… adds procedures or tests to existing work

“... involves only marking and feedback grades to student

“… is separated from teaching

“… is carried out at intervals when achievement has to be summarized and reported.” (Harlen,1998)


What if:◦ Your final grade for the driving test was the average of all your grades

received while practicing?◦ How would possible low grades impact your final grade?◦ In the beginning of learning to drive, how confident or motivated to learn

would you be?◦ Would any of grades received provide you with guidance on what you

needed to improve your driving?◦ YOUR FINAL TEST- or SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT- Would be the

accountability measure that establishes whether or not you have the driving skills necessary for a driver’s license- not a reflection of all the driving practice that leads to it.

◦ The SAME HOLDS TRUE for classroom instruction, learning, and assessment.

◦ Take 5 minutes to talk with a neighbor about your path to earning your driver’s license. As you do so, feel free to make your own Formative Assessment Instructional License.



Criteria and goal setting:Engages students in instruction and the learning process by creating clear expectations. Students need to understand and know the learning target/goal and the criteria for reaching it. Establishing and defining quality work together,Using student work, classroom tests, or exemplars of what is expected helps students understand where they are, where they need to be, and an effective process for getting there.

Observations:Observations assist teachers in gathering evidence of student learning to inform instructional planning. This evidence can be recorded and used as feedback for students about their learning or as anecdotal data shared with them during conferences.

Questioning strategies:Should be embedded in lesson/unit planning. Asking better questions allows an opportunity for deeper thinking and provides teachers with significant insight into the degree and depth of understanding.

Self and peer assessment:Helps to create a learning community within a classroom. Students who can reflect while engaged in metacognitive thinking are involved in their learning. When students have been involved in criteria and goal setting, self-evaluation is a logical step in the learning process. With peer evaluation, students see each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality work against previously established criteria.

Student record keeping:Helps students better understand their own learning as evidenced by their classroom work. This process of students keeping ongoing records of their work not only engages students, it also helps them, beyond a "grade," to see where they started and the progress they are making toward the learning goal.

Invite students to discuss their thinking about a question in pairs or small groups, then ask a representative to share the thinking with the larger group.

Present several possible answers to a question, then ask students to vote on them.

Ask all students to write down an answer, then read a selected few out loud.

Teachers might also assess students' understanding in the following ways:

Have students write their understanding of vocabulary or concepts before and after instruction.

Ask students to summarize the main ideas they've taken away from a lecture, discussion, or assigned reading.

Have students complete a few problems or questions at the end of instruction and check answers.

Interview students individually or in groups about their thinking as they solve problems.


Formative Assessment is:

Clarifying learning outcomes at the planning stage.

Sharing learning outcomes with students.

Encouraging students’ self-assessment against the learning outcomes.

Focusing oral and written feedback on the learning outcomes of lessons and tasks.

Organizing individual student target-setting that builds on previous achievement as well as aiming for the next level up.

Appropriate and effective questioning.

Raising students’ self-esteem through the language of the classroom and the ways in which achievement is celebrated.


How well do you:

◦ Share learning goals with students?

◦ Involve students in self assessment?

◦ Provide timely focused feedback?

Do you have confidence that every student in your class can improve?

Think now about some of the things that prevent us from assessing in a formative manner.

Rate yourself from:

5 – I do this consistently well to: 0 – I don’t do this at all



What do we want for our students?

formative assessment rti - campbell county schools...`formative assessments tell you where a child...

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